Alexandre Cabanel Fallen Angel painting

Alexandre Cabanel Fallen Angel paintingAlexandre Cabanel Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners paintingJoaquin Sorolla y Bastida Beaching the Boat (study) painting
years. _First the elms, now us_, Jumpy reflected. _Maybe the trees were a warning_. He shook himself to banish such small-hour morbidities, and perched on the edge of his friend's mahogany desk. Once at a It’s funny when you find yourself walking towards someone you know but don’t really like and you know that they’ve seen you and they know that you’ve seen them and there’s no way to suddenly change paths to avoid each other. There’s that split-second hesitation, then that sort of grimace that you make before you get the smile in place. We were both doing that. party he had perched, just so, on a table soggy with spilled wine and beer next to an emaciated girl in black lace minidress, purple feather boa and eyelids like silver helmets, unable to pluck up the courage to say hello. Finally he did turn to her and stutter out some banality or other; she gave him a look of absolute contempt and said without moving her black--lacquer lips, _conversation's dead, man_. He had been pretty upset, so upset that he blurted out, _tell me, why are all the girls in this town so rude?_, and she answered, without pausing

Juan Gris Guitar on a Chair painting

Juan Gris Guitar on a Chair paintingGeorge Bellows Club Night paintingGeorge Bellows Autumn Brook painting
should surely have occasioned some concern. He had been in some sort of trance, and when he asked the old dame what she thought of it all she smiled weirdly and told him that there was nothing new under the sun, she had seen things, the apparitions of men with horned helmets, in an ancient land like England there was no room for new stories, every blade of turf had already been walked over a hundred thousand times. For long periods of the day her talk became rambling and confused, but at other times she insisted on him huge heavy meals, shepherd's pies, rhubarb crumble with thick custard, thick--gravied hotpots, all manner of weighty soups. And at all times she wore an air of inexplicable contentment, as if his presence had satisfied her in some deep, unlookedfor way. He went shopping in the village with her; people stared; she ignored them, waving her imperious stick. The days passed. Gibreel did not leave.
"Blasted English mame," he told himself. "Some type of extinct species. What the hell am I doing here?" But stayed, held by unseen chains. While she

Thomas Kinkade A New Day Dawning painting

Thomas Kinkade A New Day Dawning paintingJohn Collier The Water Nymph paintingJohn Collier Spring painting
Gibreel when he submits to the inevitable, when he slides heavy-lidded towards visions of his angeling, passes his loving mother who has a different name for him, Shaitan, she calls him, just like Shaitan, same to same, because he has been fooling around with the tiffins to be carried into the city for the office workers' lunch, mischeevious imp, she slices the air with her hand, rascal has been putting Muslim meat compartments into Hindu non-veg tiffin-carriers, customers are up in arms. Little devil, she scolds, but then folds him in her arms, my little farishta, boys will be boys, and he falls past her into sleep, growing bigger as he falls and the falling begins to feel like flight, his mother's voice wafts distantly up to him, baba, look how you grew, enor_mouse_, wah-wah, applause. He is gigantic, wingless, standing with his feet upon the horizon and his arms around the sun. In the early dreams he sees beginnings, Shaitan cast down from the sky, making a grab for a branch of the highest Thing, the lote-tree of the uttermost end that stands

Andrea Mantegna Adoration of the Magi painting

Andrea Mantegna Adoration of the Magi paintingThomas Moran Ulysses and the Sirens paintingThomas Moran Mountain of the Holy Cross painting
She said her name was Kerleeda. I couldn't work it out."
"Listen, George is too unworldly," Zeeny interrupted. "He doesn't know what freaks you guys turn into. That Miss Singh, outrageous. I told her, the name's Khalida. But she couldn't say it. Her own name. Take me to your kerleader. You types got no culture. Just wogs now. Ain't it the truth?" she added, suddenly gay and round-eyed, afraid she'd gone too far. "Stop bullying him, Zeenat," Bhupen Gandhi said in his quiet voice. And George, awkwardly, mumbled: "No offence, man. Joke-shoke."
Chamcha decided to grin and then fight back. "Zeeny," he said, "the earth is full of Indians, you know that, we get everywhere, we become tinkers in Australia and our heads end up in Idi Amin's fridge. Columbus was right, maybe; the world's made up of Indies, East, West, North. Damn it, you should be proud of us, our enterprise, the way we push against frontiers. Only thing is, we're not Indian like you. You better get used to us. What was the

Frederic Edwin Church Autumn painting

Frederic Edwin Church Autumn paintingTitian Sacred and Profane Love [detail] paintingTitian Bacchus and Ariadne painting
the other, to whose head a soggy bowler hat clung as if by magic, denied this. "God, we were lucky," he said. "How lucky can you get?"
I know the truth, obviously. I watched the whole thing. As to omnipresence and -potence, I'm making no claims at present, but I can manage this much, I hope. Chamcha willed it and Farishta did what was willed.
Which was the miracle worker?
Of what type -- angelic, satanic -- was Farishta's song?
Who am I?
Let's put it this way: who has the best tunes?
These were the first words Gibreel Farishta said when he awoke on the snowbound English beach with the improbability of a starfish by his ear: "Born again, Spoono, you and me. Happy birthday, mister; happy birthday to you."
Whereupon Saladin Chamcha coughed, spluttered, opened his eyes, and, as befitted a new-born babe, burst into foolish tears.

Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa Smile painting

Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa Smile painting
Thomas Gainsborough The Blue Boy paintingEdvard Munch The Scream painting
and don’t starve myself, but don’t stuff eating style.
4. Stay accountable. I will be trying to post daily (or so) here on my training blog, as well as keeping a public training and eating log on FitDay. Progress: I’ve posted reports each day (though I was late on a couple) so I’ve been pretty much perfect here. And while I don’t use FitDay anymore, I’ve switched to the much better The Daily Plate (see my diary) and have been logging faithfully every day. The accountability of this log and the have really helped keep me on track.
Overall Assessment
As you can see from my progress on , I’ve been doing great on every account — overall fitness, strength , and staying accountable. I’ve also added swimming and biking and am having such a great time!
A few indicators:
1. Weight: Started at 189.5 and have dropped to 185.5. While my weight loss has leveled off, I think the overall loss is decent and the plateau is probably temporary. 2. Waist: Started at 38 inches, down to 36 inches as of this week. Hooray!

Claude Lorrain The Rest on the Flight into Egypt painting

Claude Lorrain The Rest on the Flight into Egypt paintingClaude Lorrain Landscape with Shepherds paintingPeter Paul Rubens Virgin and Child painting
found for Germanicus at the time of the mutiny: he had heard the story from his mother. He did not allow me to refuse it and said that if I made any further protest he would insist on paying me the accumulated interest too: it was a debt he owed his father's memory. When I told Calpumia about my new wealth she seemed more sorry than pleased. "It won't bring you any luck," she said. "Much better be modestly well off, as you have been, than run the risk of having your whole fortune stripped from you by informers on a charge of treason." Calpumia was Acte's successor, you remember. She was very shrewd for her years-seventeen.
I said, "What do you mean, Calpumia? Informers? There are no such things in Rome now, and no treason-trials."
She said; "I didn't hear that the informers were packed off in the same boat with the Spintrians." (For Tiberias's painted "orphans" had been banished by Caligula. As a public gesture of pure-mindedness he had sent the whole

Andrew Atroshenko Before the Dance painting

Andrew Atroshenko Before the Dance paintingEdward Hopper Second Story Sunlight paintingEdward Hopper Route 6 Eastham painting
forced you to it. Though you were well fee'd It was not yours but Agamemnon's deed.
This was reported to Tiberius (though not by Afer); the word "Agamemnon" caused him fresh alarm.
Agrippina fell ill and thought that she was being poisoned. She went in her sedan to the Palace to make a last appeal to Tiberius for mercy. She looked so thin and pale that Tiberius was charmed: perhaps she would die soon. He said: "My poor Agrippina, you look seriously ill. What's wrong with you?"
She answered in a weak voice: "It may be that I have done you a wrong in thinking that you persecute my friends just because they are my friends. It may be that I am unlucky in my choice of them, or that my judgment is often at fault. But I swear you have done me equal wrong in thinking that I have the least feeling of disloyalty towards you or that I have any ambition

Thomas Moran Venice, from near San Giorgio painting

Thomas Moran Venice, from near San Giorgio paintingThomas Moran Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice paintingJean Francois Millet Woman Baking Bread painting
Catching it–While waiting for the water in your shower or sink to get hot, use a large cup (sink) or bucket (shower) to catch the water. Also, install a rain barrel to collect rainwater from your gutters. Use the collected water to water your plants and/or wash your car.9. Fixing it–Fix leaky faucets and toilets!10. Teaching it–Make suggestions to your employer to conserve water at work. Encourage your city and local schools to develop and promote water conservation among children and adults. Share this article with family and friends (and enemies too–we all use the same water)!
Most of you may have realized I slipped more than 20 water saving tips in here.Hey, it’s that important…and I’m that sneaky.Most of us have heard something like this before: “You have a lot of potential,” or in school, “You have so much potential, work hard and you might realize it.”
The only problem is no one seems to tell us where to start or how to achieve our fullest potential. After all, potential is such an ominous term. You can’t measure it. You can’t quantify it. You can’t define potential.
Even though we may not ever be able to measure our potential, we can develop habits to help us grow. Here are 7 essentials I’ve found to ensure that you are the best possible version of yourself

Thomas Kinkade The Rose Garden painting

Thomas Kinkade The Rose Garden paintingCaravaggio Amor Vincit Omnia paintingRaphael Saint George and the Dragon painting
blanks in the mind which brought me into great ridicule: if they caught me in the middle of a sentence I would finish it anyhow. The most unfortunate result of this weakness was that I made a mess of my duties as priest of Augustus, which hitherto I had carried out without cause for complaint from anyone. There is an old custom at Rome that if any mistake is made in the ritual of a sacrifice or other service the whole thing has to be gone over again from the beginning. It now often happened when I was officiating that I would lose my way in a the ritual flour and salt-and this sort of thing meant going back to the beginning again. It was tedious to make three or four attempts at a service before I could get through it perfectly, and the congregation used to get very restless. At last I wrote to Tiberius as High Pontiff and asked to be relieved from all my religious duties for a year on the ground of ill-health. He granted the request without comment.prayer and perhaps go on repeating the same sequence of sentences two or three times before I realized what I was doing, or that I would take up the flint knife for cutting the victim's throat before sprinkling its head with

Rene Magritte The Blank Check painting

Rene Magritte The Blank Check painting
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema In the Tepidarium painting
unhealhTIBERIUS CONTINUED TO RULE WITH MODERATION AND consulted the Senate before taking any step of the least political importance. But the Senate had been voting according to direction for so long that they seemed to have lost the power of independent decision; and iness of her quarters and this starvation diet soon carried her off. But there was still no news of Postumus, and Livia, until she was certain of his death, could not be easy in her mind.
Marc Chagall I and the Village painting
Tiberius never made it plain which way he wanted them to vote even when he was very anxious for them to vote one way or another.
He wanted to avoid all appearance of tyranny and yet to keep his position at the head of affairs. The Senate soon found that if he spoke with studied elegance in favour of a motion he meant that he wanted it voted

Eugene de Blaas paintings

Eugene de Blaas paintings
Eduard Manet paintings
nothing to prevent the Germans crossing the river and laying waste the three settled and prosperous provinces of France.
I have already told of the crushing effect that this news had on Augustus. He felt it so strongly because he was not only officially responsible for the disaster, as the man charged by the Roman Senate and people with the security of all frontiers, but morally responsible as well. The disaster had been due to his imprudence in trying to force civilization on the barbarians too rapidly. The Germans conquered by my father had been gradually adapting themselves to Roman ways, learning the use of coinage, holding regular markets, building and furnishing houses
,, in civilized style, and even meeting in assemblies that did not end, as their former assemblies had always ended, inv armed battles. They were allies in name and if they had been allowed to forget their old barbarous ways gradually and to rely on the Roman garrison to protect them from their still
Edwin Austin Abbey paintings

Edgar Degas Woman Combing Her Hair painting

Edgar Degas Woman Combing Her Hair paintingFrederic Edwin Church Autumn paintingTitian Sacred and Profane Love [detail] painting
distress that winter, the more so because Rome was overcrowded-its population had doubled in the last twenty years; and Ostia, the port, was unsafe for shipping in the winter, so that grain-convoys from the East were unable to discharge their cargoes for weeks on end. Augustus did what he could to limit the famine. He half-starved looters from the workers' quarters. Augustus organized a brigade of night-watchmen, in seven divisions, to prevent this sort of thing: this brigade proved so useful that it has never since been disbanded. But enormous temporarily banished all but householders and their families to country districts not nearer than a hundred miles from the City, appointed a rationing-board composed of ex-Consuls, and prohibited public banquets, even on his own birthday. Much of the grain he imported at his own expense and distributed free to the needy. As usual, famine brought rioting, and rioting brought arson: whole streets of shops were set on Ere at night by

Theodore Robinson The Ship Yard painting

Theodore Robinson The Ship Yard paintingTheodore Robinson World's Columbian Exposition paintingMary Cassatt Children on the Shore painting
seduced private soldiers of Tiberius's bodyguard and even German slaves, threatening, if they hesitated, to accuse them of offering her familiarities and to have them flogged to death. As she was still a fine-looking woman, they apparently did not hesitate long.
After Tiberius's banishment Julia grew careless, and all Rome soon came to know of her infidelities, Livia never said a word to Augustus, confident that in due time he would come to hear about them from some other quarter. But Augustus's blind love for Julia was a by-word and nobody dared to say anything to him. After a time it was generally assumed that he could no longer be ignorant, and that his condonation of her behaviour was a further caution to silence. Julia's nocturnal orgies in the Market Place and on the Oration Platform itself had become a matter of grave public scandal, yet it was four years before so much as a rumour reached Augustus. Then he heard the whole story from

Caravaggio The Entombment of Christ painting

Caravaggio The Entombment of Christ paintingCaravaggio The Crucifixion of Saint Peter paintingCaravaggio The Cardsharps painting
chieftain and was not among the first rank of the Gods. On her advice he therefore signified to the Senate that the title Augustus would be agreeable to him. So they voted him that. "Augustus" had a semi-divine connotation, and the common title of King was nothing by comparison.
How many mere kings paid tribute to Augustus! How many were marched in chains in Roman triumphs! Had not even the High King of remote India, hearing of Augustus's fame, sent ambassadors to Rome, begging for the protection of his friendship, with propitiatory presents of remarkable silks and spices; and rubies, emeralds and sardonyx; and tigers, then for the first time seen in Europe and the Indian Hermes, the famous armless boy, who could do the most extraordinary things with his feet? Had -. not Augustus put an end to that line of kings in Egypt that went back at least five thousand years before the foundation of Rome? And at that fateful interruption of

Alphonse Maria Mucha La Dame aux Camelias painting

Alphonse Maria Mucha La Dame aux Camelias paintingAlphonse Maria Mucha JOB paintingAlphonse Maria Mucha Gismonda painting
and captured and put to death by Antony. The duel between Augustus and Antony was short. Antony was totally defeated in the sea battle off Actium, in Greece. He fled to Alexandria and there took his own life-as did Cleopatra, too. Augustus assumed Antony's Eastern conquests as his own and became, as Livia had intended, the sole ruler of the Roman world. Octavia remained true to the interests of Antony's children-not only his son by a former wife, but actually his three children by Cleopatra, a girl and two boys-bringing them up with her own two daughters, one of whom, Antonia the younger, was my mother. This nobility of mind excited general admiration at Rome.
Augustus ruled the world, but Livia ruled Augustus. And I must here explain the remarkable hold that she had over him. It was always a matter of wonder that there

Albert Bierstadt The Mountain Brook painting

Albert Bierstadt The Mountain Brook painting
Albert Bierstadt Bridal Veil Falls Yosemite painting
make things enjoyable and 2) use positive public pressure. But read on for more on how to use those two things to motivate yourself for any goal.
It’s motivation, Not Discipline
First let’s back up a little bit. A number of readers have emailed me about sticking to their goals — anything from exercise and eating right to being organized and productive to creating new habits — and have said they simply lack the discipline to stick with things for very long.
But what is discipline, really? It’s mostly an illusion, in my experience.
When people say that someone has “discipline”, as I’ve written about before, they really mean he has the motivation to stick to something.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Venus Verticordia painting
a previous post I used the example of someone in the military, a typical case of somone who is said to have discipline. This military man might get up super early, fix his bed neatly, go on an early-morning run, do a bunch of other exercises, and generally do a disciplined job throughout the day.

Edward Hopper Cape Cod Morning painting

Edward Hopper Cape Cod Morning paintingAmedeo Modigliani the Reclining Nude paintingAmedeo Modigliani Seated Nude painting
responding as quickly as possible to anyone who expresses interest in what you’re saying – whether that’s by commenting on your blog, responding to your forum post, replying to your tweet, or however else they choose to contact you. Answer questions quickly and to the best of your abilities – one impressed contact can easily multiply into tens or hundreds of new followers/readers/fans/etc. as word spreads of your expertise.9. Feature your hits.
This applies most to bloggers,although if you can figure out how to apply the same principle to your other online activities, all the better. As you build up an archive of really strong content, make sure that you pull it up and re-present it from time to time. Keep a list of your top 5 or 10 posts on your front page, and backlink to old posts when you write new ones. Make it as easy as possible for people

Titian Bacchus and Ariadne painting

Titian Bacchus and Ariadne paintingLorenzo Lotto St Catherine of Alexandria paintingTheodore Chasseriau Apollo and Daphne painting
The paper, Rufus thought; it’s even in the paper! And he looked wisely at the first boy. And the first boy, interested enough to ignore the remark against his father, said, “Well how did he get killed, then?” and Rufus, realizing with respect that it was even more creditable to get killed than just to die, took a deep breath and said, “Why, he was ...”; but the boy whose father had seen it in the paper was already talking, so he listened, instead, feeling as if all this were being spoken for him, and on his behalf, and in his praise, and feeling it all the more as he looked from one silent boy to the next and saw that their eyes were constantly on him. And Rufus listened, too, with as much interest as they did, while the boy said with relish, “In his ole Tin Lizzie, that’s how. He was driving along in his ole Tin Lizzie and it hit a rock and throwed him out in the ditch and run up a eight-foot bank and then fell back and turned over and over and landed right on top of him whomph and mashed every bone in his body, that’s all. And somebody come and found him and he was dead already time they got there, that’s how.”

Edgar Degas Absinthe painting

Edgar Degas Absinthe paintingFrida Kahlo The Broken Column paintingFrida Kahlo Self Portrait painting
and they all laughed, and he was practically certain that to those boys at least, the whole thing was just some kind of mean joke. But then he remembered how nice the boys he liked best and trusted most had been, and he knew that anyway the boys he liked best were not in any way trying to tease him.
After a while, however, he began to wonder even about them. Maybe their being so extra nice just their way of getting him to do things he would never do if they were only nice part of the time and then laughed at him. Yet if they were nice all the time, it must be because they honestly meant it. And yet the way some of the others laughed, what he was doing must be wrong or silly somehow. He would be much more careful. He would be careful not to do anything or say anything anybody asked him to, unless he was sure they were

Peter Paul Rubens The Judgment of Paris painting

Peter Paul Rubens The Judgment of Paris paintingJohn William Godward Dolce far niente paintingJohn William Waterhouse Miranda - The Tempest painting
right.”
“It’s LaFollette,” she called, as he went into the hall.
“All right, Mary.” He went out.
“And, Andrew.”
“Yes, Mary?” He put his head in.
“Talk as quietly as you can. We don’t want to wake the children.”
“Yes, Mary.”
“It’s queer I don’t know,” she told the others. “But it was always Jay who called.”
“Tell your mother what’s up,” her father advised, for she was looking inquiring. Mary leaned across her.
“Bathroom?” her mother whispered discreetly.
“No, Mama. He’s gone to telephone Jay’s brother.”
Her mother nodded, and still extended her trumpet, but Mary had nothing to say.
“I hope he will extend all our most—heartfelt—sympathies

Leonardo da Vinci Head of Christ painting

Leonardo da Vinci Head of Christ paintingLeonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa Painting paintingRembrandt Rembrandt night watch painting
now that was apt to get worse rather than better. Apt? Dead certain to.
And his wife, while she mended, was thinking: such a tragedy. Such a burden for her. Poor dear Mary. How on earth is she to manage. Of course it’s still entirely possible that he isn’t—passed away. But that could make matters even more—tragic, for both of them. Such an active man, unable to support his family. How dreadful, in any event. Of course, we can help. But not with the hardest of the burden. Poor dear child. And the poor children. And beneath such unspoken words, while with her weak eyes she bent deeply to her mending, her generous and unreflective spirit was more deeply grieved than she could find thought for, and more resolute than any thought for resoluteness could have made it. How very swiftly life goes! she thought. It seems only yesterday that she was my little Mary, or that Jay first came to call. She looked up from her mending into the silent light and shadow, and the kind of long and profound sighing of the heart flowed out of her which, excepting music. was her only way of yielding to sadness.
“We must be very good to them, Joel,” she said.

Jean Beraud Pont des arts painting

Jean Beraud Pont des arts paintingJean Beraud Boulevard des capucines paintingHenri Rousseau The Snake Charmer painting

Thomas Kinkade Footprints in the sand painting

Thomas Kinkade Footprints in the sand paintingThomas Kinkade Christmas Cottage paintingThomas Kinkade almost heaven painting
He doesn’t,” Rufus insisted, angry and bewildered at the turn the discussion had taken.
“That’s enough, Rufus,” his mother whipped out sternly, and leaned across and patted Catherine’s hand, which made Catherine’s chin tremble and her tears overflow. “That’s all right, little wicker! That’s all right! He doesn’t play games. Rufus is right about that, but it is, someways it is like hide-and-seek. You’re ab-so-lootly right!”
But with this, Catherine was dissolved, and Rufus sat aghast, less at her crying, which made him angry and jealous, than at his sudden solitude. But her crying was so miserable that, angry and jealous as he was, he became ashamed, then sorry for her, and was trying, helplessly, to find a way of showing that he was sorry when his mother glanced up at him fiercely and said, “Now you march and get ready for school. I ought to tell

Henri Rousseau The Equatorial Jungle painting

Henri Rousseau The Equatorial Jungle paintingHenri Rousseau The Boat in the Storm paintingHenri Rousseau Surprise painting
thought of religion. They’ll come now, when his mind’s wandering and he hasn’t the strength to resist, and claim him as a death-bed penitent. I’ve had a certain, respect for their Church up till now. If they do a thing like that I shall know that everything stupid people say about them is quite true - that it’s all superstition and trickery.’ Julia said nothing. ‘Don’t you agree?’ Still Julia said nothing. ‘Don’t you agree?’ ‘I don’t know, Charles. I simply don’t know.’
And, though none of us spoke of it, I felt the question ever present, growing through all the weeks of Lord Marchmain’s illness; I saw it when Cordelia drove off early in the mornings to mass; I saw it as Cara took to going with her; this little cloud, the size of a man’s hand, that was going to swell into a storm among us. Now Brideshead, in his heavy, ruthless way, planted the problem down before us.
‘Oh, Bridey, do you think he would?’ asked Cordelia.

Irene Sheri Dreaming of Tomorrow painting

Irene Sheri Dreaming of Tomorrow paintingFrederick Carl Frieseke Through the Vines paintingFrederick Carl Frieseke The Garden Parasol painting
not English; I cannot understand this keen zest to be well-bred. English snobbery is more macabre to me even than English morals. However, I said, “Charles has done something delicious. What will he do next?”
‘The next thing I saw was your very handsome volume “Village and Provincial Architecture”, was it called? Quite a tome, my dear, and what did I find? Charm again. “Not quite my cup of tea,” I thought; “this is too English.” I have the fancy for rather spicy things, you know, not for the shade of the cedar tree, the cucumber sandwich, the silver cream-jug, the English girl dressed in whatever English girls do wear for tennis - not that, not Jane Austen, not M-m-miss M-m-mitford. Then, to be frank, dear Charles, I despaired of you. “I am a degenerate old d-d-dago,” I said “and Charles - I speak of your art, my dear - is a dean’s daughter in flowered muslin.” ‘Imagine then my excitement at

William Bouguereau Youth painting

William Bouguereau Youth paintingMartin Johnson Heade Magnolia Blossoms on Blue Velvet paintingClaude Theberge The Race painting
disturbed by the children or when we have people to stay. I got Emden to do it. Everyone thinks it a great success.
There was an article on it in Country life; I bought it for you to see.’

She showed me the article: ‘...happy example of architectural good manners...Sir Joseph Emden’s tactful adaptation of traditional material to modern needs...’; there were some photographs; wide oak boards now covered the earthen floor; a high, stone-mullioned bay-window had been built in the north wall, and the great timbered roof, which before had been lost in shadow, now stood out stark, well lit, with clean white plaster between the beams; it looked like a village hall. I remembered the smell of the place, which would now be lost.
‘I rather liked that barn.’ I said.

Jean Fragonard Young Girl Reading painting

Jean Fragonard Young Girl Reading paintingJean Fragonard The Stolen Kiss paintingJean Fragonard The Musical Contest painting
won’t ask you if you liked Kurt; no one does. It’s funny - I couldn’t get on without him, you know.’
Then I told him about his mother. He said nothing for some time, but lay gazing at the oleograph of the Seven Dolours. Then:
‘Poor mummy. She really was a femme fatale, wasn’t she? She killed at a touch.’ I telegraphed to Julia that Sebastian was unable to travel and stayed a week at Fez, visiting the hospital daily until he was well enough to move. His first sign of returning strength, on the second day of my visit, was to ask for brandy. By next day he had got some, some how, and kept it under the bedclothes.
The doctor said: ‘Your friend is drinking again. It is forbidden here. What can I do? This is not a reformatory school. I cannot police the wards. I am here to cure people, not to protect them from vicious habits, or teach them self-

Steve Thoms Poppies field painting

Steve Thoms Poppies field paintingSteve Thoms Field of Red and Gold paintingRichard Leblanc Valley of Sunflowers painting
He showed me the books he was buying, which, since I knew no German, were not of interest to me. As I left him he said: ‘Don’t think me interfering, you know, but I shouldn’t make any definite arrangement in Merton Street until you’re sure.’ I told Sebastian of this conversation and he said: ‘Yes, there’s a plot on. Mummy wants me to go and live with Mgr Bell.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me about it?’
‘Because I’m not going to live with Mgr Bell.’
‘I still think you might have told me. When did it start?’ ‘Oh, it’s been going on. Mummy’s very clever, you know. She saw she’d failed with you. I expect it was the letter you wrote after reading Uncle Ned’s book.’ ‘I hardly said anything.’